In order to prevent a terminal fitting received in a connector housing from being fallen out or being poorly fitted, various connectors have been proposed, which have a connector housing for receiving a terminal fitting and a spacer inserted into a spacer installation opening of the connector housing to prevent the terminal fitting received in the connector housing from being fallen out.
FIGS. 14 to 17 show such a connector according to the related art.
A connector 100 shown in the figures, like a connector disclosed in the below PTL1, has a spacer installation opening 111 provided in a lower surface of a connector housing 110, and a spacer 120 is inserted and installed in the spacer installation opening 111 as indicated by an arrow Z1 in FIG. 14.
FIGS. 15 and 16 shows a state where the spacer 120 inserted in the spacer installation opening 111 is positioned at a temporary locking position by a temporary locking mechanism 130.
The temporary locking position is a position, where the spacer 120 is not engaged with a terminal fitting in the connector housing 110.
The temporary locking mechanism 130 of the shown example, as shown in FIG. 16, is constituted of a pair of positioning protrusions 131 formed to protrude from front ends of both outside walls 121 and 122 of the spacer 120 opposing with each other in a width direction of the connector housing 110, and a pair of locking portions 133 provided on the connector housing 110.
The pair of positioning protrusions 131 are protrusions formed to inwardly protrude from the front ends of both outside walls 121 and 122 of the spacer 120. In addition, the pair of locking portions 133 are engaging grooves, in which the positioning protrusions 131 are engaged when the spacer 120 has been inserted up to the temporary locking position. The pair of locking portions 133 are provided on inner partition walls 113 and 114 in the connector housing 110, which are erected in an opposing state inside of the outside walls 121 and 122.
The spacer 120 can moved from the temporary locking position, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, to the main locking position, where the spacer is engaged with the terminal fitting, if a pressing load equal to or greater than a predetermined value is further exerted thereon.